The Castaway Hotel - 6 - 13. Chapter 13 - Another School Year

As September started, it was filled with a flurry of activity. First of all, Nick, Trey and Vinnie were all scheduled to take their road tests. I was a little worried about two of the three, but if they did the things we’d practiced, then they would be fine. That meant Vinnie couldn’t get too aggressive, as he was prone to do, and Trey couldn’t be too timid, as was his habit. However, when the day of their test arrived, everything did not go as I’d hoped.

Nick and Trey had opted to ride down with Jake, in the Grand Am, since they had chosen to take their test in that vehicle. Nick went first and did very well, but Trey’s attempt didn’t go as smoothly. He was a little hesitant carrying out some of the requests his examiner made of him, but did each task very well once he committed to it. He was very nervous when the testing session ended, because he wasn’t sure he had done well enough to pass.

Once he parked for the final time, the two of them sat side by side, but didn’t speak, while the examiner checked his notes. Trey was almost ready to pass out from the stress of waiting, but then his examiner spoke.

“You are overly cautious,” he stated, “but I guess I’d rather see that than someone who is reckless. You’ll have to work on responding to situations a little more quickly than you did today, but I suspect that will come with practice and experience. You’ve passed your test. Congratulations.”

Trey wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly, so he asked the man if he’d really passed. When the examiner confirmed he had, Trey started breathing normally again. A huge grin also spread across his face as he got out of the vehicle and then he happily informed Jake and I about the good news.

Finally, it was Vinnie’s turn to go, but he was taking his test in the 4-Runner. It suited his condition best and he felt more comfortable in it, so it made more sense for him to use it instead. That’s why we took both vehicles to the test site, to ensure Vinnie would have the best chance of passing.

Vinnie was doing well until he came to one particular traffic light. It was changing from green to amber as he approached and this caused some indecision on his part. At first he was planning to stop, so he hit the brake, but then he realized he was nearly in the intersection and would have to slam the brake on to stop in time. If he didn’t, he’d end up stopping in the intersection, so he took his foot off of the brake and stomped down on the gas pedal instead. This sent the 4-Runner lurching forward again, but, unfortunately, the light was already red as he passed under it. This meant an immediate failure, for running a stoplight.

Vinnie was heartbroken when he returned, since he never considered he might fail his test. Even though I assured him he could take it again, as quickly as the DMV would allow, he still didn’t perk up. I even took him inside, so we could schedule another exam before we left, and eventually his morose demeanor began to disappear. He was still disappointed and embarrassed about being the only one to fail this time around, but it might work to my advantage. Maybe now he’ll be more inclined to listen to my words of caution and less confrontational.

After we put the driving test behind us, the next item on the agenda was our meeting with Judge Shay. I warned Vinnie that he should have concrete reasons and goals for what he wanted to accomplish, because this would help Judge Shay decide how to advise him about his future.

Even though I had spoken with Steve in advance and told him what I could about the things Vinnie had mentioned to me earlier, I was certain it wasn’t enough. Those details would only give him the groundwork to build on, so this would be Steve’s turn to hear from Vinnie directly. That’s why I wanted to make certain Vinnie knew exactly what he wanted and how to express his desires. Once we took seats in Steve’s office, he moved his chair in front of us, instead of talking to us from across his massive desk.

“Vinnie, Josh and I have talked about your conversation with him and he’s informed me you don’t want him to adopt you. He says it has something to do with your relationship with Kevin. Is that correct?”

“Yes, it is,” Vinnie confirmed. “If Pop adopts me, it would make Kevin and I brothers. The problem is, I don’t think I’d feel right later, if it turns out we want to become partners for life.”

“I can see your dilemma,” Steve agreed. “Is that the only thing that concerns you?”

“No, there’s more,” Vinnie admitted. “I’d actually want Pop to adopt me, if it wasn’t for the problem with Kevin. Pop’s been really great and I love him a lot. I also love living here, so I don’t know what I should do. I guess it’s just me, but I can’t get past the part of Kevin and me being brothers, instead of lovers.”

“What if I came up with a solution for you?” Steve asked.

“Could you really do that?” Vinnie wondered.

“Yes, I just might know a way to get around your concerns. Would that help?” Steve challenged.

“I guess it might,” Vinnie replied, more hesitantly than I expected, “but it would depend on what your idea is. I don’t want to have to leave and live somewhere else.”

“That wouldn’t be necessary,” Steve assured him. “I’ve talked the idea over with my wife and she agrees with it too. If you would allow me, I’d like to explain it to you now. I think we have a proposition you might be interested in.”

“Okay, that’s what we’re here for,” Vinnie acknowledge, although not very tactfully.

“What if WE, my wife and I, were to adopt you instead, and then turned around and make Josh your permanent guardian? You’d still live with him and the other boys and be part of the Currie family, but Kevin and you wouldn’t legally be brothers. Josh has even offered to include you in his will, but legally you’d be our son and part of our family.

“I know this is a big step and I don’t want you to rush such an important decision,” Steve continued. “For that reason, I want you to take your time, even if you need a few days or a week to think this through. When you’re ready, just have Josh give me a call, so you can let me know what you’ve decided. We’ll proceed from there, when I have your answer.”

After Steve finished talking, he and I could almost see the wheels turning in Vinnie’s head, so neither of us said anything. We didn’t want to interrupt or interfere with his thought process and concluded he would need plenty of quiet time to think this through. Neither of us was expecting him to make a decision then and there, but we suspected some questions might pop into his mind that he’d want answers to, once he started thinking about this suggestion. If that were to happen, then we could address those issues immediately, before he forgot what they were or blew them out of proportion in his mind.

As he considered the proposal, his face began to brighten and he actually began to smile. Then Vinnie turned toward us and spoke. “That sounds great! I can’t think of any problems with your idea and I want to thank you and Aunt Mary for offering to adopt me. I love you both already, but now I love you even more. I’d be honored to have you as my parents.”

“Vinnie, I told you that you could have time to think this over,” Steve reiterated, “if you want. Maybe you should take the time to talk this idea over with Kevin first, before you decide. You don’t have to give me your answer now, because I want you to be certain that it’s what YOU want to do.”

“I don’t need to think about it any more,” Vinnie assured him, while smiling broadly, “and it’s the perfect solution to my problem. I don’t know how you thought of it or why you want to do this, but I can’t think of anything I’d like more. Having you and Aunt Mary as my new parents would be incredible, but you’ll still be my Pop, “ he added, after turning in my direction, to let me know he hadn’t forgotten about me.

Once he said this, he gave both of us a hug, but then he paused for a second, before he continued. “I do have one question for you, though. If you adopt me, would I then call Aunt Mary and you mom and dad?”

“That would be entirely up to you,” Steve told him. “You could do that, or you could continue to call us Uncle Steve and Aunt Mary. We’d have no problems with either choice. We’re just glad we can offer you an alternative, to help you solve your problem.”

“Yeah, it’s better than I hoped for. This way, Kevin and I can still stay together and we won’t technically be brothers. We’ll still be able to marry later, if that’s what we both decide to do, and Pop will still be there for me too. Yeah, I think this will work fine.”

“Fantastic!” Steve exclaimed. “I’ll have the paperwork drawn up and we can make it legal, as soon as everything is approved.”

“Thanks, Uncle Steve,” Vinnie told him, while giving him another hug. “That helps me out a lot. I was really worried about how we were going to do this. Pop, is this all right with you?”

“Certainly!” I agreed. “Anything that helps you and makes you happy is fine with me. We’re both lucky to have a guy like Uncle Steve to help us out with these situations, aren’t we?”

“We sure are,” Vinnie replied, before turning back toward Steve. “Uncle Steve, will you tell Aunt Mary I said thank you, but I’ll come over to your house as soon as I can, to thank her in person. This is awesome! Thank you, so much.”

A few moments later, we left Steve’s office and Vinnie couldn’t wait to get home, so he could call Kevin and tell him about everything we had just discussed. Although I was pretty sure none of this would be a problem for Kevin, I felt he would also feel better that Vinnie didn’t have to confront the issue of their being brothers AND lovers in the future. Now they could continue on as before and explore the love they felt for each other.

My assumptions were correct and Kevin thought if was the best option too. He and Vinnie discussed the idea in great deal, while trying to see if they could uncover any hidden problems they might not have anticipated. However, after a lengthy effort, they couldn’t come up with anything, so both boys were elated. Everything was progressing smoothly.

Now that Vinnie’s problem had been settled, and other than continuing my duties as superintendent, the next item on my plate was helping Nick complete the forms to qualify as an exchange student. He was still very determined to do this, now more than ever, and the emails from Ricky just seemed to strengthen his resolve. Even though Nick was currently in his junior year in high school, he was definitely planning far beyond his current situation.

Along this vein, Nick had signed up for an extra heavy academic load for the current year, which mildly surprised me. Nick was not what I’d call overly ambitious or the extremely studious type, so his taking on additional work wasn’t what any of us would have expected. In addition to the typical junior year coursework, he had also enrolled in a senior English class and honors Spanish. This would be a tough schedule, but if he’s able to complete it successfully, he won’t have to worry about coming back from the exchange program and taking extra courses just to graduate.

Boiling it down to the basics, this meant Nick would be taking two English courses, along with math, science, history, honors Spanish and an advanced computer lab. It was going to be a tough year for him, but it didn’t seem to dampen his spirit or deter his ambition. It was obvious the extremes he’d go to in order to fulfill his dream to go to another country and still graduate on schedule.

As Nick jotted down his ideas for the essay about himself, and while he attended an assortment of meetings with the various screening committees, he began to focus on going to Brazil. I wasn’t certain how he had narrowed his choices down, so I thought it would be best if I discussed this with him, before he finalized his selection. I just wanted to make certain he had considered all of the appropriate variables first and it was what he really wanted.

When I pressed him as to why he had chosen Brazil over all the other options, he explained he’d been told that Brazil was the most likely place to have openings. In turn, this also meant it would give him the best chance of being selected to go. He had even taken the time to research the country, by using the school library and various search engines online. He knew about the country, the schools and a little about the people. After hearing this, I concluded he knew what he was doing, but I thought I’d be remiss if I didn’t check out exactly how much he understood.

“Did you know they speak Portuguese in Brazil, and not Spanish?” I asked.

“I thought they spoke both,” he told me, “but I’ve heard they’re kind of the same. It’s sort of like the English the Barstows speak and how we talk.”

“Well, some people might speak both languages, but Portuguese is the official language,” I told him. “Although there are similarities with Spanish, it IS a different language and not quite as close as you’re implying. Now that you know this, do you think you might want to change your mind?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted, honestly. “Let me talk to my Spanish teacher and see what she has to say about it. If it’s not too different, I don’t think it will be a problem, but if it is, I’ll have to think about it more.”

“That’s a smart approach,” I confirmed, “but did you also realize that because they are south of the equator, their seasons are the opposite of ours. It’s the same in Brazil as it is for Ricky in Australia? That might mean you would have to leave right after our school year ends, like Ricky did, so you won’t get a summer vacation. Are you all right with that?”

“Yeah, I’ve already thought that might happen,” he assured me, “but I think being in another country will be like a vacation in a way, even though I’ll still be in school. I know it’s not going to be easy, but I really want to do this, Pop.”

“Okay, but I want you to call your parents again and get their input too. If all of you agree, then I don’t see any other problems.”

“Thanks, Pop. I’ll do that.”

True to his word, Nick spoke with his parents and also checked on the differences in the languages with his Spanish teacher. After doing both these things, he decided he would be able to survive and communicate with the people there, although it might take a little extra work on his part. In fact, he was even kind of excited about learning a third language. Man, this kid is just full of surprises. Just when I thought I had Nick figured out, he goes and fools me again.

On a totally different front, Cody was a little easier to read. He was fitting into the family quite nicely and the growing bond between Graham and him was becoming quite apparent to everyone. Graham had spent nearly every night, since Cody had arrived, sleeping in Cody’s room. They were also taking showers together and Graham was fussing over him like a wet nurse.

When I questioned Graham about his views on all of this, he told me that he was really beginning to like Cody a lot. Even though he thought of himself as being bi, not just gay, he might be tempted to try a gay relationship, for Cody’s sake. He said they had so much in common that he couldn’t think about being away from Cody for very long. He also told me he felt he needed to be there for him all the time and when they weren’t together, he felt like a part of him was missing.

When I asked him if they had been doing anything sexually, he told me they hadn’t done much, just jacked each other off a couple of times. I told him that was fine, as long as they both agreed to it, and he told me it was actually Cody’s idea. Graham explained he hadn’t planned on doing anything unless Cody brought it up first, so he had played kind of dumb where sex was concerned. When Cody eventually mentioned doing something, Graham said he gave in quickly, because he wanted to do those things too, almost as much as Cody did.

A few hours later, I had an opportunity to ask Cody about this too. “Hey, Cody, how are things going?”

“Great. I really like it here a lot.” He was smiling and truly seemed to mean what he said.

“I see you and Graham seem to be getting close, wouldn’t you say?” I followed, while looking him in the eye. He was still smiling, but beginning to look a bit apprehensive as to where this conversation was going. I think he was a little unsure about what my reaction was going to be concerning what he’d been up to. I think he figured I had somehow learned about his activities with Graham, and even though he’d probably heard stories from some of the other boys about things I did and didn’t allow, he still appeared apprehensive.

“Yeah, I really like him,” he admitted, coyly. “I think we’re going to be good friends.” His smile faded slightly and I could tell he was trying to figure out if I was going to drop this or continue.

“And I think he likes you too. Do you agree?” I followed. I was trying to reassure him that he wasn’t alone in his feelings, while exploring the topic further. However, now he began to eye me suspiciously and was a little slow to respond.

“I hope so,” he finally admitted, before eyeing me some more. Finally, I guess he decided it might be better to confront the issue head on. “Is that okay with you?” he asked.

“Sure, as long as both of you are happy with the situation. Have you boys done anything together?” I pressed. I think this question caught him totally off-guard.

“What do you mean?” His eyes were nearly popping out of their sockets at this point and his mouth was agape.

“You know, have you done anything of a sexual nature. It’s okay, you know, as long as you were both willing. I just don’t want anyone to be forced into doing things he isn’t ready for or doesn’t want to do.”

“We both wanted to do it,” he blurted out, and then stopped, after realizing he had said more than he had planned. Now, he had a look of fear on his face, like he was waiting for me to explode or to punish him for what he’d said.

“Hey, it’s all right, really,” I told him, as soothingly as I knew how. “I suspected you might have done something, like masturbate each other.”

“Done what?” he asked, unsure of the term I had used.

“You know, jacked each other off… wanked… given each other a hand job.”
I had kept going because he didn’t seem to understand what I was saying. When I finally caught a spark of recognition in his eye, I continued. “Masturbation is the correct term to use, when you stimulate your penis, or someone else’s, to orgasm with your hand.”

There was a look of disbelief on Cody’s face, like he was shocked that I had brought up such a thing. After he got over his initial surprise, he finally responded. “Uh, do you talk about things like this with all your boys?” I chuckled.

“Actually, I do,” I confirmed. “We’re very open about things around here, even sexual topics. I hope that doesn’t bother you.” He looked thoughtfully at me this time, while studying my facial expressions and body language. When he was convinced I was serious and sincere, he answered me.

“No, not really. It just kind of surprised me,” he admitted.

“Well, maybe I should tell you about how we do things around here then,” I suggested. “Let’s sit down and I’ll try to explain it to you.”

We went into the family room, which was empty, and I closed the door behind us. I sat in my favorite chair, and to my surprise, Cody was in my lap almost immediately. I thought he might be apprehensive about doing it this time, due to the topic, but that didn’t seem to faze him. Unfortunately, though, he was also doing his bouncing and squirming routine and managed to crush my old nads yet again. I let out an “umph’, and Cody turned toward me, with a look of horror etched on his face.

“I’m sorry, did I hurt you again?” he asked.

“It’s all right. I’ll just start wearing a cup when you’re around,” I teased. He looked shocked when I said this, but after I laughed, he began to laugh to, and then he hugged me.

“I really do like it here. I like it here a lot,” he confirmed, before he started to relax. He settled down and put his head against my shoulder, making himself comfortable.

I then went on to tell Cody about how we were honest and open with each other and how I was willing to allow most things, as long as no one was hurt or coerced into doing anything they didn’t want to do. I also told him about how we did things as a family, including our last vacation and the nudist camp. Hearing this, Cody lit up. It seemed he thought that was the neatest thing he had ever heard.

“So you all went around naked together?” he wondered.

“Yes, we did,” I confirmed.

“Graham and the others told me they did that at home, but I didn’t know you did it in front of other people too,” he stated, amazed. “Will I be able to try it some time?”

“If you wish,” I told him, which earned me another smile. I could tell he definitely wasn’t going to be shy when it came to his body.

After we were done with our talk, I think he was more comfortable with the way we did things and I was fairly certain he would be more open with me in the future. He continued to sit with me a while longer and we talked about school and many other topics. The time we spent together was important and I felt we were beginning to form a bond, as I had hoped.